The Philippines and Timor-Leste have will pursue legal cooperation and political consultations in a bid to strengthen their bilateral ties amid the latter’s full membership to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said in her speech during the bilateral meeting with Timor-Leste Foreign Minister Bendito dos Santos Freitas on Wednesday, Oct. 22, that they are currently in talks to deepen cooperation agreements on a number of issues and sectors.

“This morning, we examined the prospect of pursuing legal cooperation to send a strong and unified message: those who must face justice as determined by our legal systems will find no safe haven within our respective borders,” she shared.

Freitas, for his part, also divulged that political consultation mechanisms will be established when the Philippines chairs ASEAN next year.

“We want to see another follow-up communication with the establishment of political consultation mechanisms that will be happening next year when Philippines will chair the chairmanship of ASEAN. It's really very important,” he said.

The two countries have recently coordinated on the extradition of dismissed Negros Oriental 3rd District Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. to face several murder, frustrated murder, and attempted murder charges for the killing of then-Governor Roel Degamo and several others in 2023.

The Timor-Leste foreign minister expressed his gratitude to the Philippines for helping it fulfill its requirements for full ASEAN membership.

“We want to start reinforcing our bilateral cooperations between Timor-Leste and Philippines, more clear, more specific in certain areas of particular intervention like education, health, agriculture, human resources development program, tourism, and other areas that's really important for both sides,” he said.

“So, we appreciate very much the role of the Philippines in this whole process for providing us support, decent support, guidance towards our full membership and after the accession to us and full membership, we really expect that we have a closer and a stronger cooperation with the Philippines for matters of common interest, for the benefit of our people and of our two countries,” he added.

Lazaro then highlighted the “growing bilateral relationship” between the two countries, owing to the visits of Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta in 2023 and Freitas last year.

“These high-level engagements both signal our growing bilateral relationship and further advances it,” she said.

Meanwhile, Lazaro also expressed the country’s readiness to provide capacity-building assistance to support Timor-Leste’s agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sectors.

“We are going to continue capacity building assistance to Timor-Leste through our Technical Cooperation Council of the Philippines (TCCP). The first request is on the livestock and fisheries, so the Philippines is ready through the TCCP to assist,” she said.

The official added that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) can help empower Timor-Leste’s small business sector.

“As the incoming Chair of ASEAN next year, I conveyed our assurances to the Foreign Minister that the Philippines will collaborate with Timor-Leste in promoting an integration process that is effective, inclusive, and centered on the needs of their people,” she said.